Staffordshire Police Fire and Crime Commissioner candidates have reacted to Government plans to reintroduce serious crime 'league tables' for forces.

Of the five candidates running to replace Conservative PFCC Matthew Ellis, only the Tory candidate has spoken in favour of the league table plans, touted by Home Secretary Priti Patel recently.

Police league tables were originally introduced by the Labour government in 2007, but were later scrapped following opposition from the Police Federation.

The PFCC election for Staffordshire takes place at the same time as County Council elections, with voters heading to the polls on May 6.

Critics say targets and league tables can create perverse incentives for police forces, which distract officers from focusing on local priorities. The Staffordshire Police Federation have already spoken out against the plans.

Here's what the candidates had to say in 100 words or less, in no particular order:

Deneice Florence-Jukes, Independent

Ms Florence-Jukes said: "This proposal would seriously undermine my role as Commissioner. I would be forced to direct Staffordshire police to focus on national targets set by Whitehall and not on the important local crime issues that blight Staffordshire people's lives. The reintroduction of targets would be a damaging and retrograde step. Crime targets divert focus away from

other serious crimes, such as sexual assaults and child exploitation and they run the risk of local crimes being side-lined in favour of achieving government set priority targets. This proposal reinforces my stance as an Independent, that politics needs to be kept out of policing."

Tony Kearon, Labour

Mr Kearon, a councillor on Newcastle Borough Council, said: "In my day job I've dealt with police performance indicators a lot over the last 20 years. I was glad when the Home Office abandoned them, and am puzzled why they want to bring them back – I struggled to find the evidence that they actually improve policing. Performance tables encourage 'game playing' – focusing time and effort on the things being measured at the expense of other crucial aspects of policing, and it creates extra paperwork for frontline officers. We improve policing by investing in real increases in staff, support, training and equipment, not by ticking boxes on pieces of paper."

Ben Adams, Conservative

Mr Adams, who previously served as a cabinet member on Staffordshire County Council, said: "Given the government's large increase in police funding and commitment to recruit 20,000 more police officers I think it is reasonable for the home secretary to measure progress on reducing murder, violent crime and neighbourhood crime. I am sure the public will also welcome the benchmarks for disrupting drugs supply, tackling cyber-crime and supporting victims. These are already priorities for Staffordshire Police and residents. Knowing how we compare to similar forces will indicate where we can improve, where we are performing well and will highlight national best practice. These measures will help reduce crime and keep Staffordshire safe."

Richard Whelan, Liberal Democrats

Mr Whelan said: "Priti Patel spends too much time cracking down on the Police, instead of letting the Police tackle crime. The Home Secretary wants to impose Whitehall targets on local Police forces, in order to release more police funding – which is totally backwards. I believe in the liberal principles of policing – proper community policing, done at a local level. Then we can help people and communities be, and feel, safer. This is just another attempt by the government to sound tough on crime, without taking the liberal approach of working to prevent crime. It's time Priti Patel listened to the Police, and local communities."

Michael Riley, Reform UK

Mr Riley, a former prison governer, said: "Victims of crime will have a view in delivering our local Police Crime plan in Staffordshire. Intelligence is available in relation to what the Home Secretary is proposing on selective crimes. We also know there is a lot of unreported crime taking place in some Police services! At a time when collaboration is an important part of any strategy in dealing with criminality, reintroducing a league table may mean the priorities of victims of offending in other areas become weaker, and it may prove to become a divisive tool between Police services delivered in England and Wales for those victims."

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